Seoul: The United States today called on North Korea to quickly resolve an impasse at nuclear disarmament talks, while South Korea urged the communist nation to halt its provocations that have stoked tension on the peninsula.

The increased pressure from Washington and Seoul comes after a series of angry actions by the North responding to tougher policies by South Korea's new conservative government, which has refused to shy from criticizing Pyongyang or seek concessions for aid.

In the past week, North Korea has expelled South Korean officials from a joint Korean industrial zone, test-fired missiles, threatened to turn South Korea into "ashes" and labeled the new South Korean president a "traitor."

Washington also says the North has failed to provide a complete declaration of its nuclear programs by a deadline at the end of last year.

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill today said he was waiting for a North Korean move "in the next few days" to end the impasse over the declaration.

Hill said the US had hoped to resolve that issue by the end of March, which passed without a resolution.

"We are very concerned about time," he said in Seoul after meeting South Korean diplomats. Hill said North Korea's recent provocations were "directed at trying to upset the mood" in South Korea and called them "unhelpful."

However, he said there was no need to overreact. Meanwhile, South Korea's Defence Ministry sent a fax message to the North Korean military asking it to stop trying to rile its neighbour.

Source : PTI